Pirogues
are flat bottom hulls made from 3 panels. The flat bottom provides excellent primary
stability and can carry much weight while drafting little water. Traditional pirogues
are great simple boats to but they do have a couple of issues.

1)
They are wide at the top so a paddler has to extend their arms wide to reach over
the sides. This can result in more difficult paddling.

2)
Because of the flat bottom, the hull can carry heavy loads and draft little water.
However, this becomes an issue if the hull is loaded with minimal weight and floats
high in the water. This can lead to unstability because the center of gravity
of paddler and boat is raised.

To
address these issues, we took our original Touring
Pirogue plans and added a top tumblehome panel. Shown below is a cross section
of our "Touring Pirogue" layed on top of the cross section of the "Touring
Pirogue-T".

The
tumblehome panel makes reaching the water with the paddle much easier. It also
allowed us to lower the maximum beam down toward the water. The bottom panel was
narrowed slightly allowing the hull to sit slightly lower in the water. All 3
features combined makes for very easy and stable paddling.

Please
note: The paddler above is shown without a Personal Floatation Device. He is a
very experienced paddler and was testing the hull in very shallow water, on his
property, in calm and controlled conditions. We recommend always wearing your
Personal Floatation Device.

A
paddler with a moderate sense of balance can even stand. Although we recommend
you attempt this in shallow waters first.

The
longer length and relatively narrow beam will make for quick and efficient paddling.
We think you'll realy enjoy this model.

Specifications

Overall Length

15'

4.6 m

Max.
Beam

29"

.74 m

Height
at bow/mid/stern

13"/10"/12"

33/25.5/31cm

Rocker
bow/stern

1"
/ 1"

2.5
/ 2.5 cm

Recommended
weight on board

150-320
lbs.

68-145
k

Estimated
weight*

40 - 50 lbs.

18- 23 k

*Weight of hull:
Hull weight will depend on skill of the builder and chosen build materials. Achieving
the lowest overall weight will require the best materials and a highly skilled
builder.

Material
Build List

Plywood:

3sheets

Epoxy
Resin (With 15% waste factor)

1.5
gallons [6.5 liters]

Fiberglass
Tape:

25
yards [23 meters]

Wood
Flour

1
quarts [1 liter]

Click
here
for a downloadable Bill of Materials. To open this file in a separate window,
right-click and then choose "open in new window". You will need the
free version Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file.

Epoxy
and fiberglass, starting price will be about $140 plus shipping in the United
States depending on the brand and vendor you choose. This doesn't include items
such as varnish, brushes, rollers, mixing sticks, gloves, etc. See our list of
trusted suppliers.

Marine
grade plywood, price will be about $130 if you pick it up yourself.

Labor:

The
hull will required about 35-45 hours to complete. These times are rough estimates
and will vary according to the skill of the builder. Please note these are "hands
on" hours and do not include the time waiting for epoxy to cure.